Section 37-181-7 - [Repealed effective 7/1/2028] Funding of Education Scholarship Accounts; approval of eligible students for program participation to be on a phased-in basis(1) New enrollment in the ESA program created in this chapter shall be limited to five hundred (500) additional students each year . Subject to appropriation from the General Fund, each student's ESA shall be funded at Six Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($6,500.00) for school year 2015-2016. For each subsequent year, this amount shall increase or decrease by the same proportion as the student base amount under Section 37-151-203 is increased or decreased.(2) Subject to appropriation, eligible students shall be approved for participation in the ESA program as follows: (a) Students shall be approved on a first-come, first-served basis, with applications being reviewed on a rolling basis;(b) After participation reaches fifty percent (50%) of the annual enrollment limits in subsection (1) of this section, the department shall set annual application deadlines for the remaining number of available ESAs and begin to maintain a waiting list of eligible students. The waitlist shall only include eligible students who have certified to the department that they have been accepted into an eligible school qualified to provide services for the participating student's disability or special education needs, or provide services addressing a participating student's IEP. The waitlist will be maintained in the chronological order in which applications are received. The department shall award ESA program applications in chronological order according to the waitlist; and(c) Participating students who remain eligible for the ESA program are automatically approved for participation for the following year and are not subject to the random selection process.(3) No funds for an ESA may be expended from the total funding formula funds provided in this act, nor shall any school district be required to provide funding for an ESA.Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 518, HB 1229,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 484, HB 4130,§ 110, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by Laws, 2020, ch. 386, SB 2594,§ 4, eff. 6/25/2020.Added by Laws, 2015, ch. 441, § 4, eff. 4/16/2015.